Abstract
Leptin deficiency is a major factor for the development of obesity and respiratory disorders. Transgenic leptin-deficient mice (ob/ob) are obese and have attenuated ventilatory response to CO2 (hypercapnia). It is unclear whether the impaired ventilatory response caused by leptin deficiency (e.g. in ob/ob mice) results from a loss of excitatory leptin drive to respiratory chemoreceptors o…